Pokemon: Heroes of Unova
by pokemonmasternicole
Summary: While other kids went on their Pokemon journey when they were ten, Sam stayed home due to the worries of her mother. When she and her friend Luke are offered the opportunity of a lifetime, she'll have to leave behind all she's ever known to journey the Unova region. *side note, i do not own anything nintendo nor was involved in the creation or pokemon. no copyright intended*
1. Chapter 1

I hear the kids at school talk about Pokémon all the time, traveling all over the Unova region, become Pokemon masters at the age of ten. They all had great stories to tell, yet here I was, fourteen, and still stuck in school, probably never to have an adventure of my own. So often I heard the utter disbeliefs of my peers, who usually answered with a chorus of "whys".

The truth of it is, my dad died when I was six due to a vicious Bouffalant stampede. Ever since then, my mom has been afraid to let me out of the house, let alone go on a Pokemon journey by myself. Do I tell the kids in my class though? No, because I don't want a pity party to be following me around. I'm sure some of you can relate.

Today was a particularly bad day at school. For whatever reason, the topic came up frequently today. The fact that Sam Tulp had never went on her journey seemed to shock people more than ever. First it was the paper in writing class, where we were supposed to tell about our favorite memory from out adventure. I had to awkwardly explain to my teacher that I had never been on one, and she asked why. I told her what I told everyone else, I missed the date to get my Pokemon and they ran out, which everyone seemed to buy. She told me to write about my favorite Pokemon instead.

I wrote about an Oshawott. I like the way it used the shell on its body as a weapon. I also liked the way it gradually evolved into a strong four legged stance in the final evolution. I was into describing the looks of the Oshawott when I felt someone tap me on the back. I turned around to find it was Josh Havoc, the school jerk. He was big and tall, and had jet black hair with a red streak down the middle. I'm not one to usually judge by looks, but he looks like a bully. The worst part is that he has four gym badges, the most out of anyone in our class. I could tell whatever was going to come out of his mouth was not going to be good.

"Hey loser," he told me. "Why do you bother to write about Pokemon when you're never going to have one anyways?"

It was true, I wrote about Pokemon all the time. It's always filled a void I had with never leaving the house and all.

"I don't know, why do you bother breathing when you know you're eventually going to die?" I countered. The smirk faded from his face.

"Listen here you little punk. Just remember that I have Pokemon and you don't, so before you open your mouth again let me just remind you that I know where you live, and you could not wake up tomorrow morning."

I turned around and continued my story. There was no point in getting into it with Josh; things were just going to end badly. The class ended and I turned in my paper. Nothing particularly bad happened until about lunch, when I got tripped in the lunch line. It kind of happened in slow motion, Josh's foot sticking out and me falling face first into the foreign food substance on my face. I heard everyone in his group of friends burst out laughing, and the suppressed snickers of my other classmates.

"Aw poor baby," Josh teased. "Why don't you have your deranged mommy put a band-aid on it? Oh yeah that's right, you can't afford one."

This got a howl of laughter from everyone. Now please note reader that I'm usually a calm person, but when people make cracks about the fact that my mother hasn't left the house for eight years, it gets to me fast. I stood up and wiped the slimy food off my clothes. Josh still wasn't done laughing when my fist made contact with his jaw.

The lunchroom was silenced. I was feeling pretty proud of myself when I felt the hand on my shoulder. I turned around to someone who I automatically knew was the principal.

"Both of you. To my office. NOW," he screamed.

…..

"Sam Tulp, it's your fist day of high school, and you're already getting in a fist fight?!" Mr. C screamed at me.

I sat in the principal's office next to Josh, who held an ice pack to his face.

"I've heard things about you Miss. Tulp. You have a record at the elementary and middle school and I'm not tolerating it here! Therefore as a punishment, I'm going to suspend you for a week."

"What?!" I protested. Had this guy never heard of a warning before?

"You know you deserve this Miss. Tulp. Deep down I know you do. As for you Mr. Havoc, you're free to go. Give your father my best."

"That's not fair! He provoked me!" I argued as Josh left.

"We don't punish students for telling the truth," Mr. C said flatly. "You're free to go."

I got up and left, I figured I didn't want to get into more trouble than I already was in. I had been suspended on my first day of school. How was I going to tell my mother? I decided that I wasn't, it was probably for the best. I walked out of the school building to find my best friends Luke, waiting to walk home with me. Today he was wearing a maroon T-shirt and black jeans, the autumn breeze blowing through his sandy, blonde hair. He saw me and his face lit up.

"Hey short stuff, ready to go?" he said. I wasn't short, he was just really tall. He was about Josh's height, but instead of big built, he was a beanpole. Still, he looked intimidating. I could only walk home alone if I was with him. We started to walk the ten miles to my house.

"So Sammy, was your first day as good as mine?" he said sarcastically. That made me smile for the first time today. Then I remembered how my first day actually went, and the smile faded.

"Suspended," I said, looking away.

"Yeah I figured. I saw that punch. It was a nice one."

Luke always knew what to say. He never asked for details or made a big deal about anything. I don't think I've mentioned this, but Luke didn't go on a journey either. He was afraid of Pokemon until about last year, when his mom finally got him some therapy. By that time though, it was too late to start a journey. We avoided the topic as much as possible, which was the opposite of what other people wanted to talk about.

We walked in silence for a while. It was a beautiful autumn day, the colorful leaves mixing in with the wind. I tried to think about the year to come, how horrible my high school career was going to be. I was in the middle of my thoughts when I heard a shrill scream. Me and Luke exchanged looks before running in the direction of the sound.

A little girl was laying on the ground, a man standing above her.

"Keep your mouth shut! You're going to give me the Pokémon or you're going to pay the price! Take your pick!"

"Hey!" Luke shouted. "Why don't you pick on somebody you own size?"

The man looked up in shock, and then a smirk came across his face.

"Ah, trying to play hero kid? Why don't we have a little battle then? Go, Watchog!"

The man threw a Poke ball, and a tall, rat like Pokémon emerged. Luke backed away in fear.

"W-w-we don't have Po-Pokémon," Luke stammered out. His cool and collected demeanor had faded. The man smiled wide, exposing his yellow and crooked teeth.

"Even better!" he squealed. "Get them!"

The Watchog sauntered near us; fangs bared and ready the strike. I grabbed Luke's arm, knowing this was probably the end. I closed my eyes and awaited the pain. This is what my dad must have felt before he died, an angry Pokémon ready to charge. I guess I was my daddy's little girl after all.

Suddenly out of nowhere, a dog like Pokémon called Stoutland jumped in front of us. The Watchog backed up out of shock, as well as its master.

"I thought you didn't have any Pokémon you little brats!" he screamed.

"They don't but I do."

A woman in a long lab coat appeared behind us. Her hair was tied up in a bun. In her hand was a regular Poke ball. This is where the Stoutland must have come from!

The man looked at the woman in shock.

"Professor Juniper! If I had known you were around I never would have…"

"Save your breath criminal, and get out of here before I call Officer Jenny," she said with distaste. The man ran away, taking his Watchog with him.

"Nobody was harmed right?" said Professor Juniper. Her serious and intimidating personality was gone as quickly as it had come.

Everyone was fine apparently. The little girl thanked us and the Professor (even though I hadn't really done anything) and left with her Pokémon. Professor Juniper turned to us.

"I believe we haven't been formally introduced. I am Professor Juniper, and I am this regions Pokémon professor. You are…"

I and Luke introduced ourselves.

"Now please don't mind my prying, but I overheard you two don't have Pokémon?"

"No madam, we never got to go on our journey for different reasons," I answered.

Professor Juniper shook her head. "It's probably for the best. I always have eager ten year olds coming to me looking for a great adventure, only to turn around and have to come home after the going gets tough. The smarter ones wait till they're older and know more about the world. Tell you what, you guys are what, fourteen, fifteen? I'll make you a special offer. Come to my lab tonight, I need special trainers to help me with a task, if it's okay with your parents."

I knew it wouldn't be with mine at all. I was about to answer, but I made the mistake of looking at Luke first. He had this light in his eyes that I hadn't seen in a long time. Maybe he had been waiting for a moment like this every since he had gotten over his fear. I wasn't about to let him down.

"We'll be there."

…

When I got home, my mom hugged me so hard my back cracked. Our house was about the size of an apartment, probably smaller. We didn't have a TV, or a computer, and hot running water was a sometimes.

"I thought something had happened, it's forty seconds after four o'clock and…SAM,"

I hugged her back, she gets so worried about me, but not as worried as she's going to get when I drop this bomb shell.

"How was your first day? Do you like your teachers? Why were you late home? Did you…"

"Mom, Professor Juniper wants me to go on a Pokémon adventure for her."

She stopped talking and looked at me seriously.

"Absolutely not. You know I told you that you could never go on a Pokémon journey."

I was prepared to argue. "Why though? I'm fourteen! Everyone besides me and Luke went on their journey and came back safe and sound!"

"How far did they really go though? Straiton City, get their Gym badge and turn back? Professor Juniper is probably talking about all of Unova!"

"Luke is coming with me! I'll be fine mom I promise!"

"I DON'T CARE THAT LUKE IS GOING WITH YOU! YOU'RE NOT GOING!"

"You never let me live my life you know that? I have to have some experience outside of Nuvema!"

"YOUR FATHER SAID THE SAME THING AND LOOK WHERE HE'S AT. HE'S DEAD SAM! WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO IF I LOST YOU TOO?"

Boom goes the dynamite. It always ended up with dad. Dad died because blah blah blah. I ran to my room, which was the attic upstairs, and locked the door. Why didn't she understand how bad I wanted this? Tears fell down my face and hit the wooden floor. I realized now what I had to do. My life wasn't hers to control, and sometimes you have to take a little risk.

My bags were packed with most of the clothes I owned, twenty Poke dollars, a sandwich, and my journal. My hat was one that covered my ears, and I put on my dad's old jacket. I brushed my long blonde hair out of my face, prepared as I'll ever be. I left a goodbye note to my mother explaining my destiny and why I had to leave. I then climbed out the window and scaled the planks on our beaten down shack of a house, starting my new journey and life as a Pokémon trainer.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two; Pokémon: Heroes of Unova

After writing the first chapter in this journal, I realized I forgot to describe myself, and it's important for you to get a picture of me in your mind. My name is Sam Tulp, and I'm from Nuvema Town in the Unova region. I have long blonde hair and blue eyes, and I'm in between skinny and fat. My favorite articles of clothing include my winter hat (which I wear all the time, all seasons because it's comfortable and it covers my tiny ears) and my dad's old leather jacket. My mom sells Oran berry jam for a living from our house, and my best friend is Luke Larson. Enough about me though, let's get back to the story.

After I had snuck out my window, I made my way to Luke's house. I didn't want to wake his parents though, so I picked up a small rock and threw it at his window. It hit with a loud THUNK. I thanked God that it didn't break through. Luke opened his window and looked around. When he laid eyes on me, his eyes lit up.

"I'll be down in a second!" he half whispered, half shouted. I nodded to know I heard him.

Ten minutes and a bit of walking later, we were at Professor Juniper's lab. The building was a bit menacing, but it still had a friendly aura to it. It wasn't very tall, but it was wide, with a big orange roof, kind of like a Pokémon center. Luke and I knocked on the double doors. Professor Juniper came right away.

"Guys, when I said meet me at my lab tonight, I didn't mean that you had to come at night," she said smiling at us.

"I had some complications with convincing my mom," I told her, which was the truth.

"Well, I'm glad you're here. Come on in."

Luke and I stepped inside. It defiantly had a lab look to it, with all kinds of machines and wiring on every wall. I was drawn to the center though, where three red and white Poke balls sat on a table. Professor Juniper picked them up and threw them on the floor. The first one to emerge was a Snivy, and green Pokémon with a long tail and white underbelly. This was probably the grass type Pokémon. The next one to appear was a Tepig, a small, red Pokémon with a flat snout and hooves. The third one I knew was going to be mine, and it was the Oshawott, a small, blue Pokémon with a white head and a seashell on its belly.

"Okay, who's going to pick first?" Professor Juniper asked.

Luke looked at me and nodded. I think he knew as well what I would choose. I pointed at the Oshawott.

"I would like the Oshawott please," I told the Professor. She happily handed me the Pokémon, and I took it and held it in my arms. This was the moment I had been waiting for my whole life.

"Hello Oshawott," I said.

"Wott wott!" it answered happily. I could tell we were going to be great friends.

Professor Juniper turned to Luke. "Okay, your turn."

I was extremely curious about Luke's choice. We had never really discussed what he would choose if he had gotten the chance to go on a journey. He took a moment and looked between the two eager Pokémon before he spoke.

"Snivy," he told her. It was a good choice. Professor Juniper went to hand him the Pokémon, and I could see him wince a bit. He took the Pokémon none the less though.

"H-hello Snivy," he stammered. I didn't understand. Was he still afraid, or just nervous? Whatever it was, the Snivy was offended and turned its head away.

"Sniv!" it said.

Luke looked upset, but I'm sure he would be okay. Snivys had always seemed moody anyways.

"Well, now for the assignment I mentioned," Professor Juniper said.

I had been so excited about the Pokémon that I had completely forgotten the task at hand, whatever it was anyways.

"First off, I want you two to travel over the Unova region and fill out the Pokedex."

That was what was expected. The way she was talking though, she had something bigger on her mind, something someone would not do on the average journey.

"There have been an unusual amount of criminals popping up, especially in this region. We don't know where they came from, or if they are even associated with each other. We just know they are out to get other peoples Pokémon for unknown purposes."

Was this all? I'd been dealing with bullies my whole life; this was going to be a piece of cake.

"Your goal is to find who they're working for: if they're working for someone of course, and stop them at all costs. I expect you to do great things, because you tried to stop that criminal with no Pokémon, and that's brave. Good luck you two, and stay safe."

Me and Luke thanked the Professor and left the lab. I looked at my newly obtained Pokedex. It was red, and you had to slide the top up to get it to turn on. It reminded me of my old cell phone, the one I had left at home. I left it at home so my worrisome mother wouldn't call me obsessively. My mother…

Did she know I was gone yet? It had only been about an hour, and it was the middle of the night. She would defiantly know in the morning, when she found the attic empty, the window open and my note sitting on the floor. I suddenly realized how selfish I had been. Should I turn back? How would she live without me? I picked all her berries, and sometimes I even sold her jams on the street for extra money.

"We have to go back to my moms." I told Luke.

Luke looked aghast.

"Sam, we just started our journey and you want to turn around? You're being ridiculous."

"No, it's not that. It's just…I snuck out and didn't tell my mom I was going on this journey. I had asked her but she refused and brought up my dad and… Luke I'm really sorry, but we have to go back."

Luke stopped walking and turned to me.

"What?! We just got our Pokémon! We can't turn back now!"

"I'm not going to stay! I just need to tell my mom what I'm doing and where I'm going so she doesn't worry."

"You and I both know that's not going to work Sam. She'll just put you on lock down and you'll never escape. Now, I'm not saying what you did was right, but sometimes you have to think about yourself, which you never seem to do. Please, just this one time, do it. Please."

I looked down. "I don't think I can do this Luke."

He sighed. "Look, I would have never agreed to this if you weren't with me. I'm still afraid, even after therapy. It's just… you keep me going. You inspired my love for Pokémon with your love of Pokémon. I don't know what I'd do without you Sam, you're my best friend. If you don't do this for yourself, do this for me."

There was my option. I turn around and comfort my panicked mother, would have half raised me and love me for fourteen years, or I could choose Luke, who had stuck by me when no one else would even come close, who calls me his best friend. He tells me I'm strong and meaningful and brave, and that I inspire him. Even though it seemed wrong, the choice was clear.

I looked up from the ground and found his gaze. The bluest eyes I've ever seen. I nodded my head. I almost didn't catch his smile. Almost.

"Then lets go."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Nothing was particularly exciting about Route 1. I had walked this path many times to and from school. Still, there was something eerie about it at night. The good thing was that Pokémon didn't pop out at you like they did in the day time. They were all asleep, since it was nearing midnight anyways. I didn't really want to sleep yet though, because it was only about two miles to Accumula Town. Route 1 made it seem like the Pokémon journey was going to be easy, which in reality, is not the case.

I took my Oshawott out of the Poke ball. It merrily bounced beside me along the path. It seemed happy, and it was probably still pretty young. The only moves it probably knew was tackle and tail whip. I could try teaching it water type moves later, but as for now, I was content with the way it was.

Luke had tried to get his Snivy out of his Poke ball, but it no use.

"Come on Snivy, Oshawott is out here. You two can walk together!" Luke begged.

"Sniv!" it said, and turned its nose the other way. Was it really that offended? All Luke did was stutter.

"Okay, have it your way," Luke said sadly, returning it to the ball.

"It's okay Luke, I'm sure it will warm up to you," I tried to assure him.

"Wott wott!" Oshawott tried.

Luke didn't look so sure.

"Whatever, we're almost there anyways," he mumbled.

It was true; I could see the approaching town. It was a small town, with paved roads and very few residents. I had sold jams here multiple times and been in all the houses before. The only building I had never been in was the Pokémon Center, the one in the middle of town with the big, orange roof. That was exactly where I was heading to. It was about 12:30 when we got there, so I didn't expect anyone to be there. The automatic doors opened, revealing the center.

The place was defiantly bigger on the inside, with a high ceiling and multiple floors. A woman with pink hair stood behind a counter at the end of the room, who I could only guess was Nurse Joy. I walked to the end of the room toward the counter.

"May I heal your Pokémon?" Nurse Joy asked.

"Yes please madam," Luke answered.

Luke passed his Poke ball over the counter. I picked up my Oshawott off the ground and passed it to Nurse Joy. She carried them to the back room, so now all we had to do was wait.

There were multiple cushions and chairs around the Poke Center for people to sit and wait. I sat in a chair next to Luke.

"It sure was an eventful night," I said to him.

"It sure was. Hopefully there are many more to come."

I hadn't realized how tired I was until I had sat down. My head hit the back of the wall, and I fell asleep. I awoke from my slumber to a lot of screaming, and a lot of commotion.

"Come on Sam, get up!" I heard Luke screaming.

I sat up with a jolt.

"What's going on? Is something wrong?"

That was a stupid question. Of course something was wrong.

"A guy broke in and stole the Poke balls in the back of the Poke center!"

I felt the color drain from my face. Did that include my Oshawott? I sprinted to the back room, to find it empty. Not a Poke ball in sight. I wanted to cry, everyone who had trusted that their Pokémon were safe here would return to find them gone. That was about the point that I remembered I hadn't put my Pokémon in its ball. I ran to the distraught Nurse Joy, who was in tears.

"Madam, did you put my Oshawott in its Poke ball after I gave it to you?"

Nurse Joy looked up at me, her eyes wide.

"You never gave me its Poke ball… the playpen!" she exclaimed. "I had just assumed your Oshawott was the type not to like its Poke ball, so I let it sleep in the playpen! It still might be there!"

She led me to a room that I would have missed if she hadn't showed me. The door was the same color as the wall, maybe the design was meant to conceal it. Whether it was on purpose or not, it worked.

The door opened to reveal a very scared, shaky Oshawott. It ran into my arms as soon as it saw me. I held it tight against me.

"It's okay. We're going to get whoever did this."

"Osha wott wott!" it exclaimed. I assumed it meant something along the lines of "Dang right we are!"

Luke stood behind us. His Snivy wasn't in here because he had kept it in its Poke ball. I couldn't imagine what he was feeling right now. He had gotten his Snivy only hours ago, just to have it taken away.

I stood up and looked at Luke.

"Come on, we're going to get your Pokémon back."

…

Luke, Oshawott and I exited the Pokémon Center. We decided that he couldn't have gotten too far, because there were a lot of Poke balls to take and they weren't exactly light. We decided the best way to go about this was to split up. Besides, Accumula Town wasn't that big in the first place. I swear we searched every inch of that town before we decided he wasn't there. It was about five am now, and the night sky was starting to lighten up. We knew we had to keep looking though, not just for us, but for everyone who had had their Pokémon stolen.

We had decided to search the town again, when we heard a noise coming from far away. We looked in the direction of the crash, to see a man dressed all in black, carting a big plastic tub of Poke balls. Poke balls! This must have been the guy! He immediately ran as soon as he saw we had seen him, and of course we chased him.

He was fast, even with the Poke balls, yet we were gaining on him. He was on Route 2 now, heading straight for Striaton City. He had to be getting tired by now, because I know I was. My Oshawott was falling behind, so I picked it up and carried it on my shoulders. We were a few yards away when he turned around. Any person knew that turning around slowed you down, and it gave us enough time to catch up. Luke tackled him to the ground.

"Give me my Snivy back you jerk!" Luke screamed.

The man smiled, looking into his face.

"Did you really think it would be this easy?" the man said. "I have a bunch of Pokémon, and what do you have, a hot head and big stature? It's worth nothing in this world."

Luke grinded his teeth together, and got off the man.

"You may have taken mine, but you weren't able to take Sam's!" he said.

The man turned towards me. He wasn't in any way good looking. Just like the last guy, he wore all black and a gray baseball cap. Was this just a coincidence, or did they work together? It didn't matter.

"Ah Sam is it? Why don't you and I have a little Pokémon battle? If you win, I'll give you these Pokémon back. If not, well, I keep them for my own purpose."

"Why would you need this many Pokémon anyways? What exactly is your purpose?" I asked. He clenched his jaw.

"That's none of your business you little brat! Now, are we going to do this or not?"

"Fine, but you must keep your end of the deal!" I screamed back. I got this feeling that he wasn't going to.

"Whatever, I'll just pick a random Pokémon." He picked a Poke ball out of the bin and threw it. I was horrified to see it was Luke's Snivy.

"No!" Luke screamed. "You can't do this!"

"Shut up!" replied the man.

Snivy looked around, it seemed to be a bit startled and confused. It saw Luke and tried to run toward him, but the man grabbed it before it could get anywhere.

"Listen here you little wimp, you're going to fight for me, and you're going to like it! Do you want to get back to your owner?"

The Snivy struggled against his grip.

"Sniv sniv! Sniv sniv!" it cried, obviously in a panic.

"Please, any Pokémon beside my Snivy!" Luke cried.

I ran toward Luke.

"Luke, he's going against me, okay? I'll make sure Snivy doesn't get hurt. Okay?" I tried to assure. Luke looked at me and nodded.

"Okay. Please be careful Sam," he said.

"I'll try."

I walked back by my panicked looking Oshawott. I leaned down to talk to it.

"It's going to be okay, just try to go easy on it."

"Osh osh!" It answered, still looking nervous.

It was funny how I was reassuring everyone, when I was screaming on the inside. I've learned to keep calm with people like this, and hide your real emotions. Bullies can sense when you're nervous and use it against you. I got up, and patted my Oshawott on the head.

"Are you finally ready?" the man asked with a sneer.

I tried to look confident. "Yes, we are."

"Okay, then let's get started! I'll even be nice and give you the first move."

"Gee, after all you've done for us," I said sarcastically.

Luke was being the referee for this match.

"Each person is allowed to use one Pokémon each!" he shouted. "The battle ends when the other persons Pokémon is unable to battle! Ready…begin!"

"Oshawott use tackle!" I commanded. Oshawott ran full speed at Snivy, with its head in front of it.

"Snivy, dodge it!" the man screamed. Snivy attempted to jump out of the way, but it was too late. Oshawott slammed into Snivy with all its might, knocking it to the ground. Oshawott jumped back, surprised by its own power. Snivy lay on the ground for a few seconds before shakily getting back up.

"Use tackle Snivy!" the man shouted.

"Oshawott, tail whip, go!" I shouted in return

The two Pokémon ran at each other, but before Snivy got to Oshawott, Oshawott smacked it with its tail. It looked pretty hard too. Snivy lay on the ground again, this time not making an effort to stand.

"Get up you little weakling! We don't have time to sit around!" the man screamed.

"That's no way to treat a Pokémon!" Luke yelled back. "And it's not weak! You're just a bad trainer!"

The man looked offended. Snivy had gotten up, but it looked dizzy, and it had dirt marks all over its face.

"Come on then Snivy! Show me that you're not weak! Attack that interfering ref!" the man yelled at it.

"Sniv?!" it responded, outraged.

"Please, if you do it, I'll let the other Pokémon go free!"

Was he lying? I couldn't tell. Snivy looked as confused as ever though.

"Snivy…" said Luke. "Do it, if it means freeing the other Pokémon."

"Luke! You could get seriously hurt!" I screamed.

"Does it matter? I'm just one person! Besides, I'll be fine!" Luke screamed back. "He'll free the Pokémon anyways! Come on Snivy! Let's go!"

Snivy took a step back and shook its head.

"Come on you little runt, give it to him!" the man yelled.

The Snivy suddenly got a determined look on its face. It started to run full speed, but not at Luke. It crashed into the man, tackling him to the ground. It started punching him, knocking the hat off his head. The man looked pretty much defenseless. Luke ran and pulled them apart, and put his foot on the guy's chest.

"You're coming with us," Luke said.

….

We had made our way back to Accumula Poke Center by about 6:30. All the Pokémon were safely returned, including Luke's Snivy.

"I can't thank you enough for what you did," Nurse Joy said.

"It was no problem, I'm just glad my Snivy is back," Luke replied.

"Snivy sniv!" it replied.

Snivy had finally seemed to warm up to Luke, probably because of all they had been through tonight. Snivy attacking the broad man, and Luke begging for Snivy not to fight, I guess that's friendship apparently.

We all said goodbye to Nurse Joy, knowing we were going to meet another Nurse Joy exactly like her the next town. We started down Route 2, off the Striaton City. I was excited, because this was where the first Pokémon gym was, in which I would be challenging. Snivy and Oshawott walked a long side us. The sun was rising over the brightly colored trees, and it was really pretty to watch. It was probably around 7:00 or 7:30 now, around the time we would be walking this route to school. School…

I stopped where I was standing. Luke had walked a bit further before he realized I had stopped.

"What's wrong Sam? Are you okay?" he asked, concern on his face.

"Luke, Striaton is where our old school is. We're going to have to face our classmates."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

School was a living heck for me for a long time. When I was ten everyone started going on their Pokémon journeys, like I've previously mentioned. Professor Juniper offered the chance for the kids to pick up their Pokémon, and the classroom was empty for a week. The teacher usually took these days off, due to the fact that there were no kids to teach. Their classroom wasn't empty this year though. A shaky, stuttering boy and a sad, nerdy little girl were waiting, ready to learn.

Trust me; the teacher was not happy with us. She told us to do whatever we wanted until the other kids came back, and she wasn't very nice about it. I can't blame her, she was probably looking forward to a weeks' worth of vacation, but instead had to watch over two snot nosed brats in a non-heated classroom in the middle of winter. I would have been upset too.

I had never really talked to Luke before. He was so shy, and always seemed on edge. He paid attention in class though, and got mainly A's and B's on his report card. Nobody ever really teased him though, despite him being an easy target. For whatever reason, Luke was off limits, and anyone who questioned it faced the consequences from their peers. Still, he didn't really have any friends.

I on the other hand, had lots of friends. I used to be popular before everyone had left, and before the bullying started. I and my friends talked about the basic kid stuff, cartoons, Pokémon, and most importantly, our adventures. We would talk about what our starter Pokémon would be and how we were all going to be champions of the region. I knew I would never be champion though, basically because one, hardly anyone made it to champion level, and two, my mom said Pokémon adventures were too dangerous.

The first day he and I sat in pretty much silence. The teacher read her book and I read mine (even though she was supposed to be teaching), and I made notes in the margins about all the different Pokémon. It was fascinating to me how many different types and kinds of Pokémon were already out there, and still more were being discovered. I wasn't afraid of adventure like my mother. In fact, I lived for the day I would finally get to go on one. I knew though that all good things came in due time, and one day my mother would see that I was grown enough to make my own decisions.

The next day was basically the same thing. The only sounds in the classroom were the scratching of my pencil and the flipping of book pages. At one point about halfway through the day though, I glanced over to see what Luke was doing. I was shocked to see that he was drawing the most gorgeous picture I had ever seen.

It was a drawing of the lake at Route 1, with a little boy dipping his feet in. It was as if it was a photograph, and I could almost see the trees swaying and the water going up and down the shoreline. The boy was obviously Luke, with his lighter hair and thick framed glasses. The boy in the drawing also had a sketch book, and he was drawing the exact same picture that was under the real Luke's pencil. In that one, another little boy was drawing the same one. The detail was phenomenal, I swear even in the smaller versions of the pictures.

"Wow…" I whispered, almost inaudible. Somehow he heard me, and he covered up his whole drawing with his body.

"D-d-don't look a-at it! It's still a r-r-rough draft!" Luke cried out.

"That's a rough draft? It's… brilliant Luke."

Luke turned about ten shades of red. He uncovered his picture.

"Y-you re-really think s-so? I've n-never heard t-t-that my art-artwork was go-good."

"Are you kidding? It's fantastic! How can you not get complements on something like that?"

"I-I've never re-re-really shown-n it to any-anyone," he said sheepishly.

"Well, I guess that's the reason you've never gotten any compliments on it. You really should show it to more people though," I replied with a smile.

Luke smiled back at me.

"I'm L-Luke."

"And I'm Sam. It's a pleasure to meet you Luke."

We talked pretty much for the rest of the day. He showed me some of his other works, which were as equally fantastic. They all had something to do with nature, whether it was trees or water or grass. He never colored any of them, but they looked good the way that they were. When he asked me what I was doing, I showed him the cover of my book, which had a picture of a Snivy, Tepig, and Oshawott. He took a quick breath in and closed his eyes.

"Is something wrong Luke?" I asked concerned.

"P-P-P-Pokémon, I'm af-af-af-afraid o-of them!" he cried out.

"Luke, it's just a drawing, they aren't actually real," I said as I tried to comfort him.

"D-D-D-Doesn't m-m-m-matter."

His stutter was getting worse. I put the book down.

"It's ok Luke; I won't show it to you anymore."

Over the next few days, it was hard not to talk about Pokémon with him. He would get freaked out just by the word, and it was sad to see. I figured that's why he didn't go on his journey. Why travel with the region with your worst nightmare?

I didn't want to tell him at first why I didn't go on my journey. It was too hard to talk about it, and I didn't want my new friend to pity me already. No one knew about the accident with my dad, and I didn't want anyone to know either. People knew that my mom hadn't left the house in a long time though, but no one knew why. It had been four long years by that point. She had always worked her way around going outside. When Luke asked me why I hadn't gone on my journey, I told him that I had not gotten my Pokémon in time, to which he replied bad luck. I think he could tell I was lying though.

A week came and went, and the first person came back, and chubby boy named Bert. Bert was thankful that he wasn't the first on back, and he showed off his shiny, new gym badge to us. It was from the gym next door, and that's as far as he had gotten before wanting to come back. He asked us how far we had gotten, and we replied with our separate excuses. Bert seemed to understand Luke's but he kept questioning mine.

"I woke up late, got that? That's all there is to it! Stop asked questions!" I finally screamed at him.

"Whatever Sam, I'm just glad I wasn't lazy like you."

That's where it began, the name calling. Bert calling me lazy had really hurt, but I didn't defend myself. I didn't exactly know what to say to be honest.

My friends and everyone else slowly came back too. About three weeks later only one seat was missing, and it was Josh Havoc's. People wondered where he was. The rumors were flying, saying that he was going to be the next champion and stupid stuff like that. He returned a week later with four shiny gym badges.

"I probably have the most in this class," he would brag. He did have bragging rights though, because he had gone twice as far as anyone in this classroom.

I still had friends at this point, but I could feel them getting farther away. They all had great stories to tell, and I was excluded from must conversations. I found myself getting closer to Luke, and wanting to talk to him more than my old friends. Luke had become rather shy again after everyone came back though, so I never really got the chance.

Things became worse one day about a month after everyone had come back. I was eating lunch with my friends, feeling like I had nothing to say once again. They didn't seem to notice though, or care for the matter. I didn't notice Josh was standing right next to me.

"Hey Sam, I didn't see you on your Pokémon journey, where were you?" he said mockingly. He knew that I hadn't gone on one; he was just mentioning it loudly in front of everyone to embarrass me. It was working and I felt my face get hot.

"You know why Josh, please leave it alone," I said, almost begged.

"Leave what alone? The fact that you're a loser isn't even something that I need to point out. Look, even your friends don't want you around,"

I turned to them expecting them to defend me. Their eyes were down at their food, and they didn't say a word.

"We all know the real reason you stayed back you freak. You wanted to kiss up to the teacher for an extra week."

"Not true!" I screamed. The whole lunch room was focused on us now. Even the lunch ladies had stopped serving food to listen.

"Or maybe, you were just too afraid. Was little Sam afraid of the big, scary Pokémon?" Josh taunted.

"No, I wasn't, it's just…"

"Loser, loser loser…." Josh started to chant. People took up the chant, even some of my old friends. I ran out of the lunchroom and out of the school crying. I sat down against the brick wall and sobbed with my head in my hands. How had I gotten here? What happened to the wonderful life I had? I somehow knew this was only the beginning to all of this, me knowing now that my friends didn't even like me anymore. I continued crying, tears seeping out between the cracks of my fingers. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I expected a teacher, but looked up to see Luke. He sat down beside me.

"I don't think you're a loser Sam," he said, perfectly clear.

I wrapped my arms around him in a tight hug.

"Thanks Luke," I whispered.

From that point on, Luke became my only and best friend. His mom got him contacts and therapy, and in four or five years, you wouldn't even recognize it was the same person. I on the other hand can't count the number names I've been called in that time. Thank god for Luke for sticking with me. Even when I had become more cold and reserved throughout the years, he stuck with me, always seeming to know what to say.

Now here I was, walking into Striaton City, where I used to go to school, where I used to be teased and beat up and broken. This time it was different though. I had my best friends on my left and right, ready to defend me, fight for me. This time, I was not going to be broken.

**Hey guys! So I'm going to be starting school soon, and I would like to know what you think of the story so I know how much time to spend on it! Reviews, good or bad, are welcome, so please take time to tell me how I'm doing! Thank you! Love, Nicole **


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

It was 7:20am. I could see the kids outside of school, hanging out and fooling around. I tried to make myself look bigger, taller, but I was pale in comparison to Luke, who was basically a living skyscraper. I held my Oshawott close to me, hugging it against my body.

"See that brick building with the green roof?" I whispered to it. "That used to be where I went to school."

"Wott wott!" it replied excitedly.

"Yeah, but were not going there today, we going there," I said pointing at the other brick building a couple houses down. It was only slightly bigger than the school, also made out of bricks, and had a maroon roof. That was the Pokémon gym, where we would be getting our first of many gym badges, the trio badge.

This gym was owned by the three different leaders, Cilan, Cress, and Chili. Your starter Pokémon depends on who you fight in this gym, and they pair you up against who you will be the weakest against. The concept is a little unfair to me, but it wasn't what was on my mind right now. There was fifteen minutes until school started, and all the kids were hanging outside of it.

Our school is just one big building, no separation between the grades. We're one of the only regions to actually have a school somewhere, because apparently stupid stuff like math and history is important, and we will eventually have to apply it. Anyways, I saw Josh just around the time he saw me.

"Oh wow, look what came out of the trash heap today," he said smirking. "I thought you got suspended, loser. Why bother showing up? Wait, is that a, a Pokémon?" he asked in shock.

"I'm not here to come to school today. Luke and I started our Pokémon journey yesterday, and we're here for our first gym badge," I said.

The shock faded from his face and turned into a grin. This couldn't mean anything good.

"Well, why don't we have ourselves a little battle then?"

I knew he was going to say that. How could I compete against him, when he had three years of experience and I had one night? The answer was that I couldn't, but I would be a wimp if I refused.

"I accept your challenge Josh."

"Then prepare to lose."

…..

Luke was being the ref again, but this time Snivy was safely by his side. It was about at this point that a realized this was my second Pokémon, and the one before that had been with a complete jerk too. This one was different though, it was more personal.

"Each trainer is allowed to use one Pokémon each!" Luke called out. "The battle ends when one Pokémon is unable to battle! Begin!"

"Go, Pignite!" Josh shouted as he threw the Poke ball. A red colored pig like Pokémon standing on two feet emerged from the red light. This was the evolutionary form of Tepig, the one me and Luke both had rejected. Pignite defiantly looked stronger than Oshawott, and I could tell who was going to win this one.

"Okay Oshawott, go!"

Oshawott jumped in front me.

"Try your best Oshawott! This is only your second battle, so just try your best!" I ordered.

"Wott wott!" it replied.

"Pignite, use tackle!"

Josh's Pokémon ran full speed at Oshawott, making hoof prints on the dirt road.

"Oshawott, dodge it!"

Oshawott jumped out of the way of the oncoming red, just barley avoiding it. Pignite came to a screeching halt. It slid its hoof on the ground, rearing up to attack again.

"Oshawott, use tail whip!" I shouted.

Oshawott ran back at the Pignite, whipping its body around and slapping the opposing Pokémon with its tail. Oshawott bounced back, landing on its feet. The Pignite only stumbled, regaining its senses as quickly as it had lost them. This surprised Oshawott, which left a perfect opportunity to attack.

"Pignite, flame charge!"

Flame charge? Pignite's body became engulfed in flames, and it rolled toward Oshawott. I had no time to react; it had rolled over my Pokémon before I had a chance to udder a command. This move was the final move of this battle.

Oshawott laid on the ground unmoving, sear marks covering its blue and white body. I had to wait for Luke to call it before I could run to my broken Pokémon. He seemed to be in shock by how quickly my Pokémon had went down, but he came back.

"Oshawott is unable to battle, Josh is the winner!" Luke shouted rapidly, waving his right hand in Josh's direction.

I ran to Oshawott, kneeling down and gingerly picking it up in my arms. Josh had gone too far with that move; he could have easily beaten my Pokémon with a regular tackle. He had to show off though, show that he was better than me, just like always.

"Wow, I knew your Pokémon would be weak, but not that weak. "

I looked up to a menacing looking Josh and his Pignite. Both had disgusting smirks on their face, victorious smirks. It made me want to throw up.

"You won, that's all there is to it Havoc. Please leave me to tend to my Pokémon,"

"And not soak up every minute of this glorious victory? Not even for all the money in the world!"

"You idiot!" Luke screamed. "You call this a victory? Look at the poor thing! It could have died, and it will if we don't get going Sam. Come on."

Josh looked shocked. Luke had never said anything like that to anyone, especially him.

"Wow Larson… and I actually thought you were cool."

Luke grabbed me around the waist and hauled me up.

"I don't care what you think about me, no one talks to Sam that way."

….

As soon as we got to the Pokémon Center, Oshawott was hauled away by Nurse Joy, to be taken to the ER immediately. For the first time today, I sat down and cried. I was proud of myself for holding it in this long, but in spite of everything that had happened today, who wouldn't? My head was in my hands, my sobs echoing throughout the large building as I sat in one of the plastic chairs. I felt an arm around my shoulder; probably belonging to the first person I wanted to be with right now. I looked up to see Luke, sadly smiling down at me.

"Have I ever told you that you're one of the greatest people I know?" he asked.

I wiped my eyes with my jacket sleeve.

"No, but thanks."

"Seriously, you knew you were going into a losing battle, and so did Oshawott. You did it because you never back down, and you weren't about to do it now, even though most people would. You both were extraordinary; and what happened wasn't your fault. Josh is just a jerk."

I smiled at Luke. How did he always know what to say?

"Can we talk about what you said?" I replied. "What inspired that speech?"

Luke looked away. "I just didn't want you to break more Sam. I used to watch every day, just watch you get beaten down by him, and slowly watched you change. You stopped trusting people, you stopped laughing. The imaginative, outgoing girl I had met had become more reserved, quieter. Sam, I never want you to be sad again. I want you to be adventurous and happy, and not have to deal with people like him. "

Tears ran down my face. Is that how Luke had looked at me? Sad, reserved?

"Luke, how could I ever be unhappy when my best friend is as great as you?"

Snivy hopped onto Luke's lap. He patted its head. I leaned my head on Luke shoulder. This was a happy sort of sad, but I liked it.

….

My Oshawott was going to be okay. It had suffered some major burns, but was going to make a quick recovery. It would have to spend the night though, so there was nothing we could do but wait. I decided to do something I had needed to do since I started my journey.

…..

It was night. I had been hanging out with Luke all day at the Pokémon center, and we were going to stay here till morning. The clock on the wall read 10:45. I faced a purple payphone, and I inserted a Poke dollar into it. The phone rang twice before someone answered.

"Hello, is this Maria Tulp?"

"Sam, Sam is that you!?"

"Yes Mom, its Sam."

I could hear her break down on the other end of the line. She was saying something incoherent, but it didn't sound angry, just relieved.

"Mom, it's okay. I'm okay."

"I know, I know you're going to be okay Sam. Sam I… I'm sorry. I'm sorry it had to come to this. I'm sorry I had been acting the way I had been acting."

"Mom, what happened? I thought you were going to be a nervous wreck when I ran away."

"I was, Mrs. Larson found me, bruised and bloody on our kitchen floor."

My heart felt like it was in my throat. I wasn't thinking about the consequences of my actions. The words bruised and bloody rang in my ears.

"How, how did she know to come?" I dared to ask.

"I screamed as loud as I possibly could. Everything was just a blur after that. I remember going into the kitchen and grabbing a knife. I remember blood, lots of blood. I'm okay now; Mrs. Larson is here and…"

I was sobbing. How could I have done this to her? I was the world's worst daughter. I knew good and well that she could have died, and I still left anyways.

"Mom, I'm coming home."

I heard her sigh deeply from the other end.

"Sam, if you turn up on my doorstep, I'm going to shut the door in your face, unless you show me eight gym badges."

"Uh…Mom?"

"I've been stupid Sam. Today Mrs. Larson took care of me, and watched over me. She cleaned my cuts and sat with me, telling me I would be okay, and it made me realize that there are good people in the world. She also told me about what you and Luke were doing, where you were going. She told me about her own adventures too, and why it was important for a child to go on one.

"For the first time in my life, I listened. I realized that not all Pokémon were bad, and not everyone was dangerous. I've been holding you back Sam, and I shouldn't have done that. I'm… I'm a terrible mother!" she cried into the phone. I had to pull the phone away from my ear.

"Mom, you made mistakes. I've made mistakes too. I'm glad you're getting better, I'm glad you're getting help. I love you Mom."

We spent remaining time crying, crying about our faults, crying over our mistakes, crying over crying. It was the most I had ever loved my mother. The phone beeped, indicating I only had five minutes left.

"Mom, I have to go, my time is almost up."

"Sam… I love you so much. I know you're going to do great. Have a great time, and be safe honey. I love you," she cried.

"I love you too Mom and I'll call you whenever I can."

"Okay Sam, goodbye."

"Bye Mom."

I clicked off. Luke walked in and looked at me with concern.

"Is everything okay Sam?"

I looked at him and smiled.

"I don't think it could be any better."


End file.
